pricefarm
Well-known member
I been thinking about getting a solar panel with a battery charger to keep the battery charged that works one of my fence chargers. What size panel do I need?
Solar panel for fence charger
- Thread starter pricefarm
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I have used them a few times - but not for about 15 years or so.
My personal rule of thumb is to always buy the biggest panel you can afford. I also always use more than one battery hooked up to the fencer in "series/parallel"?? (cannot remember which one I used) as in the end they work great until you get a week of cloudy and wet weather. You will need to store a lot of power at times.
Fast charging is also imperative if you are running electric in the winter as sun is less strong and often not seen for days.
My fences were usually about a mile long and I always run three wires.
The local farm store here has a Gal who is fairly knowledgeable and her advice was well utilized.
Hope it works out for you.
Cheers
My personal rule of thumb is to always buy the biggest panel you can afford. I also always use more than one battery hooked up to the fencer in "series/parallel"?? (cannot remember which one I used) as in the end they work great until you get a week of cloudy and wet weather. You will need to store a lot of power at times.
Fast charging is also imperative if you are running electric in the winter as sun is less strong and often not seen for days.
My fences were usually about a mile long and I always run three wires.
The local farm store here has a Gal who is fairly knowledgeable and her advice was well utilized.
Hope it works out for you.
Cheers
wbvs58
Well-known member
If you use a charge controller then the sky is the limit as long as what the controller is rated for. I would be more considering the physical size if you need it fairly portable in which case 60-80 watts would be OK if fixed position then you might want to go to a full size panel like 200-300 watts but would be an overkill though big panels are relatively cheap. Without charge controller then only 15-20 watts so as you don't boil the battery away. A lot of ready made solar energisers don't use a controller just small panels matched to the useage and the battery.
Ken
Ken
HDRider
Well-known member
I got this. It is oversized, but why get too little when too much only cost a little more.
Lee VanRoss
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I will grant this may not be germain but how far is the land in question from a 110 source?
and I reckon I could add, What % of the year do you need power?
and I reckon I could add, What % of the year do you need power?
pricefarm
Well-known member
I use this 12 volt charger for a small fence around a pond. It's in the middle of a field so I can not connect it to the exterior fence that has electric on it. Probably only about 3000 feet of wire.
Do you already have a charge controller or are you going to need that too?
Deep Cycle Marine batteries work best ( I do like the idea of using two batteries though).
pricefarm
Well-known member
No I don't I was hoping to buy them together like a kit or something. I currently use deep cycle batteries but I usually forget to change it till it's done dead.
RDFF
Well-known member
You'll notice that pretty much all of the commercially available "solar chargers" are very small on their joule ratings. There's a reason for that. First, they are very limited in battery capacity... MUCH smaller than a 12V car battery, for example. Second, they are very limited in their solar recharge capabilities. And joules (energy delivery per charge) take power. Not very significant if you're hooked to an AC source... but critical to the functioning if you're relying completely on battery power, with recharge from a solar panel.
How big a charger are you hoping to use (in joules)? The bigger it is, the more energy it will require, and that will affect how long your battery will last until it runs "empty". Putting a solar panel on it will "recharge" the battery... so now, you'll need enough panel to recharge it with the available sunlight. Don't count on having beautiful sunny days all the time though........ more often than not, you'll have cloudy, overcast days, which will reduce your solar capture capacity to less than half of what it might be at "peak charge"... which is what a panel is rated for. Snow covering the panel? Practically 0 charge capability. Winter the toughest time???? Sun isn't as strong in winter as it is in summer... = reduced charge capability.
Best bet is to have PLENTY of charging capability (overkill panel size), and then use a charge controller that will limit the input of the solar panel when the battery is getting full, so you don't overcharge and cook your battery. Regardless of the size of the panel though, if you don't have "quality sunlight" for extended periods, you may STILL drain your battery.
Therefore, Bez's advice is probably best... get as much panel as you can reasonably afford for the installation..... and STILL "monitor" your battery charge levels, and have a second battery on hand to switch them out if the sun just isn't keeping up.
How big a charger are you hoping to use (in joules)? The bigger it is, the more energy it will require, and that will affect how long your battery will last until it runs "empty". Putting a solar panel on it will "recharge" the battery... so now, you'll need enough panel to recharge it with the available sunlight. Don't count on having beautiful sunny days all the time though........ more often than not, you'll have cloudy, overcast days, which will reduce your solar capture capacity to less than half of what it might be at "peak charge"... which is what a panel is rated for. Snow covering the panel? Practically 0 charge capability. Winter the toughest time???? Sun isn't as strong in winter as it is in summer... = reduced charge capability.
Best bet is to have PLENTY of charging capability (overkill panel size), and then use a charge controller that will limit the input of the solar panel when the battery is getting full, so you don't overcharge and cook your battery. Regardless of the size of the panel though, if you don't have "quality sunlight" for extended periods, you may STILL drain your battery.
Therefore, Bez's advice is probably best... get as much panel as you can reasonably afford for the installation..... and STILL "monitor" your battery charge levels, and have a second battery on hand to switch them out if the sun just isn't keeping up.
Here is a good and highly rated kit. You can get cheaper on eBay. But for a few extra bucks, I think it is worth it.
We use 10 amp panels with controllers. Works out well
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Totally different use but im seeing a couple companies using a small solar panel to keep a battery charged to run aa electric pump to fuel into their trucks.
